GOLF NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19254, 17 February 1926, Page 15

GOLF NOTES.

ENGLAND V. AMERICA. CONTEST FOR WALKER CUP. KEEN INTEREST AROUSED. The Auckland Golf Club's course at Middlemore has benefited by the recent rains and is in splendid playing condition. Unfortunately,' only a few golfers are taking advantage of it. Auckland golfers seem slow to recognise that almost perfect conditions can be had just now. Keen interest is being aroused both in England and in America over the Walker Cup match, which is to be played in England between the eight leading amateurs of both countries during the coming season. This will be the fifth of the .series, the four that ha,fe been played having been won by America. The golf correspondent of the Daily Mail states that inquiries made lately indicate that the following may be set down as almost certain members of the American team: —Bobbie Jones : (Atlanta, Georgia), holder of the United States amateur championship for the past two years; Watts Gunn (Atlanta, Georgia), runner-up to Jones this season; George Von Elm (Salt. Lake City), run-ner-up to Jones last year; Francis Ouimet (Bostc/h), Roland Mackenzie (Washington), and Jesse Sweetser (New York). Chick .Evans (Chicago) and Jesse Guil- ; ford (Boston) are likely choices fbr the j last two places. "It must be an extraordinarily strong team that can dispense with the services "of Robert Gardner and Max Marston, each ! of whom won his match for America against Britain at St. Andrews in 1923, but expert opinion seems to be agreed that the claims of the eight players mentioned are supreme," says the correspondent. "All but three of tbsm have won either the amateur or open championship of the United States —Jones, Ouimet and Evans have secured both —and the three exceptions, Gunn, Mackenzie and Von Elm, are brilliant examples of youthful proficiency at golf. Mackenzie, who finished first in the qualifying rounds for this season's American amateur championship, is only 18. Gunn is 20." Restraint on Crowds. The question of crowds in connection with the match is already causing concern in England. In advocating an admission charge to the course, an English writer says the main point is to place some restraint on the crowds. Mr. Bobbie Jones, the most-tafked-of golfer •in the "world in recent times, will alone be a wonderful magnet; indeed, with so many great American players in the field, this championship will probably attract more spectators than any golf meeting has done in the past. And we do not want a repetition of the scenes that resulted from free admission at last year's open championship at Prestwich, which Macdonald Smith says he lost through the behaviour of the " rajbble," and at the final of the womyi's championship at Troon, where Miss Joyce Wethered and Miss Cecil Leitch were almost at their wits' end to struggle through a mob of 10,000 people. How Course for Hastings.

The Hastings Golf Club evidently has in view a new course. The chairman of the New Zealand Golf Council has received a comrnunicStion from the club asking for certain advice in regard to the laying out of a course of over 6000 yds. The chairman lias replied that strictly speaking it was not desirable to sacrifice everything for greater length, and that the. council would never turn down for championship purposes a well-kept . and well-balanced and bunkered course for the reason only that it did not total 6000 yds. The club has also been recommended to secure the services of the professianal, Lindsay Ross, who has had considerable experience in course construction. The surface of a perfect putting-green should approximate a bad filter bed, and be so open that the rain can pass rapidly through it as it falls, and so get away ; a condition conducive both to good putting and the growth of good turf. THE ALL-BLACK SCRUM. ENGLISH CRITIC'S VIEWS. " UNEQUALLED IN ATTACK." Apart from South African criticism, the All Black scrum formation seems to have made a great impression on English Rugby experts. Leicester have adopted it, but curiously enough they were defeated by the Harlequins who were forced to pack a ;seven man scrum owing to injuries to one of their forwards. It is not generally known," states a*writer in the Daily Mail, " that many of our club teams invariably play the New Zealand formation nowadays when, in their own 25, using it, wrongly, as being efficacious only in defence, whereas, properly played, its •-equal as an attacking system, has not yet been seen. "It is almost solely due to this gener- ! ally overlooked fact that two New Zealand teams touring in these isles have scored 362 tries, to which our own system .—or want of it—has replied with a microscopic total of 23 tries in 61 matches." A CHAMPION CYCLIST. H. HORDER IN AUCKLAND. RACE WITH O'SHEA LIKELY. Harris Horder, one of the world's greatest track cyclists, is at present in Auckland. Horder is an Australian who has met with great success in America and after a short visit to his native country, is stopping a month in New Zealand before returning to America. Although not the holder of any official world's champion ship, "Horder was the wiuner of the World Cycling Derby held in Melbourne and he is looked on In America as being equal to capturing some of the world's titles. According to Horder, cycling in America is altogether different from the sport here. In Australia the public has, with difficulty, been educated up to an appreciation of the American style of racing and' the same thing will have to happen here before New Zealand can hope lo'pit due© a world's champion. " X*w Zealand cycling/' said Harder, "is chiefly handicap racing. There is not the strategy and cleverness that is seen in a race in America. There the fine points o? the game, count. There is hardly a chance of luck, and he&dwork generally wins a race over metfe speed." The point in American cycling, said Horder, was to make your opponent take first position if you were racing him on equal terms' This gave rise to some great generalship, but the competitors frequently take times that would not be tolerated here to complete the first few laps. In }hese they manoeuvred for position, but when they entered on the last length speed was allowed to have its say. Even then generalship counted, for me cyclist who could spring the first jump on his opponents when m the right position was practically assured of the race. Near the last lap a man would frequently be seen with his eyes on the feet of his most dangerous opponent. At the end of a stroke he would make his jump and thus take the man who is just leading him completely by surprise. '' Good jumping or acceleitaing is tho secret of real cycling success," said Hcsjder. " Without it a man will never make a good cyclist." - 1 Horder is looking forward to a contest with Phil O'Shea, the New Zealand champion. He considers O'Shea a good cyclfet though, of course, he would be somewhat handicapped by a limited knowledge of the finer points of the game " In Australasia we produce the world's best cyclists," he said. " O'Shea is the best rider in New Zealand and his results show him to be probably one of the greatest road riders m the world. It should be a good race when we meet,"